A “call tone”, for purposes of this disclosure, is the ringing signal that a caller hears when the caller is calling someone else and the party they are calling has not yet answered. An element in a telephone network plays the call tone to the caller when a call is being set up. For example, many phone networks in this country provide a call tone in the form of a ringing sound that lasts for a second or two, followed by a pause of a second or two, followed by another ringing tone that lasts for a second or two, etc.
The telephone art has now evolved to the point that some telephone companies provide a service wherein a particular subscriber (e.g., Joe) can purchase call tones such that when a party (e.g., Mary) calls Joe, Mary hears a distinctive ringing pattern other than the generic call tone pattern described above. Further, the service may allow Joe to have another party (Frank) hear a different call tone when Frank calls Joe. For example, the call tone Mary hears when she calls Joe could be a series of tones that define a first melody or tune (e.g., “Mary Had a Little Lamb”), and the call tone that Frank hears when he calls Joe would be a different series of tones that define a second melody or tune (e.g., “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”).
Presently, such call tone service is obtained by telephone customers (e.g., Joe in this example) via the web, either through a wired or wireless web connection. The customer goes online, purchase a call tone (ring tone pattern), references an online phone book (e.g., one stored for the user), and associates the purchased tone with particular entries in the online phone book. Nothing is downloaded to the phone. The purchased call tone would typically expire after a certain period of time. For instance, it may be good for only two weeks of use.
Aspects of this invention provide more convenient methods for organizing and managing call tone service, which are particularly useful for wireless telephones such as cell phones and personal communications system (PCS) phones. Unlike the prior art approaches, aspects of the illustrated embodiments of this invention provide for management of the call tones and assignment of call tones locally on the wireless phone, and automatic update of telephone network servers of call tone assignments. Usage of Web sites for call tone management is limited to only the initial purchase of the call tones. The rest of the management activity is typically performed off line.